In an agreement initiated in August and signed on Monday, China will help Jordan mine and enrich uranium and provide technical expertise to help build a nuclear facility.

In addition to the deal with China, Jordan has signed nuclear cooperation agreements with the United States, France, South Korea, Russia and Britain.

Dr. Emily Landau, a senior researcher with the Institute for National Security Studies, said the increasing quest by Arab countries to develop nuclear capabilities stems from the Iran's nuclear pursuits.

"They say they want civilian programs for energy purposes and there is logic to that," Dr. Landau told The Media Line. "But I think it's clearly linked to Iran's nuclear program," she said.

"If Iran becomes a nuclear state, this is an additional dimension to the gravity of the situation. It's not only the fact that Iran will become a much stronger hegemony in the region, but we're very likely to see pressure for more nuclear weapons programs in the Middle East," she said.